Zhuozhengyuan,
or the Humble
Administrator’s Garden,
is one of the four
famous landscaped
gardens in our country.
It is among the first
group of Historical
Monuments and Cultural
Relics under State
Protection and is also
listed as the World
Natural Heritage. It was
first built in the
fourth year of Zhengde
period in Ming Dynasty.
Later Censor Wang
Xianchen rebuilt it when
returning home because
of his failure in his
official career. The
garden was named after
the connotation of one
sentence from Pan Yue’s
article in Jin Dynasty.
In the article "Watering
Vegetables in the Yard",
he said "to supply three
meals a day, this is
also a way of
administration by humble
ones".
The Humble
Administrator’s Garden
was laid out in line
with the local
conditions. It was
designed with the lotus
pond at the center,
surrounded by other
pavilions and halls at
random. In a natural
style of primitive
simplicity, these
buildings still maintain
the distinctive feature
of Ming Dynasty with
vast ponds and lush
trees. Without going out
of the city can man
attain a pleasure in the
woods here. The whole
garden consists of 3
parts and some
residential buildings.
These 3 parts are
divided into the
eastern, western and
middle part. Every part
has its own distinctive
features. "Its layout is
so attractive that it
leaves no pity for the
visitors."